Moments in Time
by yellowhorde
Summary: This is a series of ficlets I’ve written for the LiveJournal community, 15minuteficlets. Each chapter will consist of an individual ficlet unless otherwise noted with their own ratings and warnings. Many may have shonen ai or yaoi content. Enjoy!
1. Happiness Defined

Disclaimer: I don't own Petshop of Horrors and I make no money from this or any other fanfic I write.

Pairing: Leon x D

Category: General

Rating: PG-13

Warning: None

Title: Happiness Defined

Author: yellowhorde

Notes: This was written for the LiveJournal community, 15minuteficlets. Word #1 – _'Happy' _

HAPPINESS DEFINED

"Hey, D, are you happy?" Leon asked. His voice was heavy and on the edge of sleep.

"Am I what? D murmured. The covers whispered as he shifted his position so that he was looking up into Leon's face.

"Happy." Leon repeated slowly and his brow knitted as he frowned. "Are you?"

D lifted one pale shoulder in what might have been construed as a shrug, "About what?"

"You and me," Leon said gruffly. He made a vague gesture that encompassed the two of them, lying together naked on the rumpled bed. "You know… _this_."

"Don't you think it's a little late asking that now?" D teased, not entirely sure where the other man was going with this line of inquiring.

Leon pulled himself upright so that his back was propped against the small mountain of pillows D kept on his bed. "I'm serious."

"Honestly, I – I do not know how to answer, Detective. No one has ever asked me before."

"You're joking, right?" Leon's voice held astonishment and something else that D couldn't quite put his finger on. He sounded almost… pleased. "You mean _never_?"

D shook his head mutely. To avoid Leon's penetrating eyes, and to buy a few moments time to consider the question, he pressed his hand, fingers splayed, against the still damp skin of Leon's chest, directly over his heart. The rhythm, slow and steady, echoed the beat of his own, so strong, he imagined he could actually hear it. To his surprise, an odd sort of contentment filled him and he sighed softly.

All his life he had been trained to carry out his duties. Under the exacting eyes of first his father, then his grandfather, he tended the shop and its animals. Later, moving the shop from city to city in order to avoid casting suspicion upon himself, he dispassionately meted out punishment to the humans he deemed most deserving. His very existence was defined by his duty and loyalty to his family and not once in all his years had he ever questioned whether what he was doing was right.

There simply had never been room for any doubt.

As always, he took pleasure in the company of his pets, the only friends he had ever known, but had he been happy? Was he happy now? Over the long years he had consorted with many humans from all races, ages, and walks of life but he had been careful to never allow himself to become attached, to never let anyone get too close. That is, until now… until Detective Leon Orcot had come barging into his once sedate and orderly life.

And then everything changed.

"I think…" D stopped, tried to swallow past a suddenly dry throat. "I think that maybe I am," he whispered softly.

And that simple, but extremely hard confession scared him more than he would have dreamed possible.

THE END


	2. Dinner and a Movie

Disclaimer: I don't own Petshop of Horrors and I make no money from this or any other fanfic I write.

Pairing: None

Category: General

Rating: PG

Warning: Language

Title: Dinner and a Movie

Author: yellowhorde

Notes: This was written for the LiveJournal community, 15minuteficlets. Word #2 – _Uncomfortable_

DINNER AND A MOVIE

_I can't believe I agreed to this,_ Leon thought as he stared at the movie screen. The theater was packed and all eyes, including D's were focused on the love story that was unfolding. The problem wasn't the movie, rather it was that D, dressed in his usual freaky attire, with his pale face and painted lips , looked sufficiently girl-like that a lot of strangers thought they were a.. .a couple.

"He's not good enough for you, dear." One blonde bombshell had said in passing. "You can do so much better."

Face flaming at the memory, and thankful at least for the fact that it was dark enough so no one would notice, Leon slurped his drink, ice crackling in the bottom of his cup. Despite himself, he had to admit that the movie wasn't horrible, it was, in fact, pretty good – a romantic comedy that was heavy on the comedy and, so far at least, diet on the romance. That would probably change before it was all said and done, though.

He reached for the popcorn container resting on his thigh and absently tossed a few popped kernels into his mouth, relishing the salt and butter flavors. At least the popcorn's good, he thought, even if it had been outrageously expensive. Nestling the container in the crook of his arm like a child, he leaned back in his seat and once more focused on the movie.

A few minutes later, a light pressure on his thigh caught his attention. He jerked, startled. In the blue, flickering light of the movie screen, he could make out D's hand gently touching his thigh. As he watched, the hand moved a little higher, then higher still, groping as if searching for something.

"What the hell?" He practically squeaked. He knew D was a bit strange, but he never imagined that he would be so… so _forward_. Not knowing how to verbally respond to the situation – certain body parts were having no problem responding at all, he noted with more than a little embarrassment – he watched with equal parts horror and fascination as D's hand crept slowly up along toward the fork of his crotch.

D glanced over and down at his hand, then up at Leon, wide eyed and trying desperately to look more indignant than turned on. D's oddly colored eyes moved up along his body until they alighted on the popcorn. He smiled and held out the hand that had previously been groping his leg. When he spoke, his voice was low, pleasant, and unbearably intimate.

"Would you mind passing the popcorn, Detective?"

THE END


	3. The Price You Pay

Disclaimer: I don't own Petshop of Horrors and I make no money from this or any other fanfic I write.

Pairing: None

Category: General

Rating: PG

Warning: Mild language

Title: The Price You Pay

Author: yellowhorde

Notes: This was written for the LiveJournal community, 15minuteficlets. Word #3 – _Apology_

THE PRICE YOU PAY

"Why do I have to be the one to apologize?" Leon grumbled as Jill dragged him by his wrist through the doors of the chocolate shop.

"Because you're a guy," Jill replied as she crossed over to one of the large glass display shelves with their selection of chocolate confections. "And guys are always in the wrong. They're just too stubborn to admit it."

"In case you haven't noticed," Leon argued, finally snatching his wrist from Jill's steel-like grasp and trying to rub circulation back into it. "D's a guy, too. He doesn't look it, or act it, or even dress the part, but he is one hundred percent male."

Jill's lips twitched into a positively evil leer. "How do you know, Leon, you been looking?"

"_No!"_ For a moment he looked flustered, but he rallied admirably. "But he's a guy, damn it, so I don't see why I should be the one to apologize, because I'm not sorry, damn it.

"Maybe you aren't now, but trust me. You will be later if you don't do something to calm him down." She peered at the rows of chocolate treats, tapping her lips thoughtfully with one red lacquered fingernail. "What flavor does D like, anyway?"

"Tiger bark is his current favorite." Leon replied without the slightest hesitation.

"Hmm… 'A blend of white chocolate and peanut butter,'" Jill murmured, reading the description off the card above the display. "Nice choice." Then, in an easy conversational manner, she said, "So, what did you say to make him angry this time?"

Leon crossed his arms defensively. "He asked my opinion on one of his new dresses and I gave it to him. That's all." He snorted. "He shouldn't have asked if he didn't want an honest answer."

Jill shook her head sadly. "It's worse than I thought," Then to the teenager behind the counter she said, "I'd like three pieces of tiger bark, please."

"What do I need three for?" Leon sputtered, jaw dropping as he saw the total on the checkout display of the register once his order was rung up.

"Trust me, Leon. You're going to need them."

THE END


	4. Forgetful

Disclaimer: I don't own Petshop of Horrors and I make no money from this or any other fanfic I write.

Pairing: None

Category: General

Rating: R

Warning: Language

Title: Forgetful

Author: yellowhorde

Notes: This was written for the LiveJournal community, 15minuteficlets. Word #4 – _Light_

FORGETFUL

"Wake up, Detective."

One hand crept out from under the cover and waved him away with an unintelligible grunt. Determined, D strode over to the window and threw open the curtains. Blinding white light streamed in through the dingy panes, falling in bright lines across the rumpled bed.

"Ah, fuck," Leon groaned, holding up one hand to block the glare.

"You're going to be late," D said sternly. "You need to get up."

Leon pulled himself into a sitting position, wincing at the pain that lanced through his head. His stomach was sour and his mouth tasted like something had taken a shit in it. It wasn't the worst hangover he had ever had, but it was damned close.

"What are you, my mother?"

"Hardly, though God knows you could use a woman's touch in this pigsty." D ignored the bleary eyed glare Leon shot his way and went to the dresser. Without fanfare he sorted through the drawer contents, finding clean socks, underwear and an undershirt. He tossed each in turn in the general direction of the flabbergasted man staring at him from the bed.

Once the basics were covered, he moved toward the closet. Throwing open the doors, he gasped in dismay at its contents. "My goodness, Detective, it looks like a tornado hit in here."

"Don't go rummaging through my shit, D," Leon snarled, pulling the undershirt over his head. "I've got a system, you know."

"Oh, I see… a _system_." The sarcasm practically dripped from D's voice. "Would that be the patented Leon Orcot push-and-shove method? You should write it down and sell it to the Slobs-R-Us fan club. I'm sure you'd make millions."

"Very funny, D."

D reached into the furthest depths of the closet and produced a clean shirt and a pair of jeans draped haphazardly on metal hangers. "You better hurry, Detective, you don't want to miss Chris' reception."

"Shit, I forgot that was today!"

D smiled then politely averted his face as Leon wiggled into his jeans. "Fortunately for you, Detective, I did not."

THE END


	5. A Boy's Grief

Disclaimer: I don't own Petshop of Horrors and I make no money from this or any other fanfic I write.

Pairing: None

Category: General

Rating: PG

Warning: Reference to Death

Title: A Boy's Grief

Author: yellowhorde

Notes: This story was written for the LiveJournal community, 15minuteficlets. Word #5 – _Baby_

A BOY'S GRIEF

_I can't believe she's gone…_

Leon sat forlornly on one of the hard plastic chairs in the waiting room, head down. He slumped forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands dangling between his legs, and stared at the tile floor. Instead of seeing the white marble swirls, he saw his mother's smiling face. Somewhere in the distance, a doctor was paged over the loudspeaker, but all he heard in his head was her warm reassurances that everything would be all right.

Footsteps approached and he sensed more than saw a shadow fall over him. Without looking up, he knew who the intruder was, the overpowering scent of Old Spice gave him away.

"Uncle," Leon mumbled in way of greeting without even lifting his head.

An awkward silence stretched between them but eventually his uncle took a seat beside him, grunting as he lowered himself into the stiff plastic chair.

"Leon, I just want you to know that we will take care of everything. You don't have to worry about a thing."

When his words failed to illicit any sort of response from the despondent teenager, the older man plunged on. "I know you're starting college next week, but I just want to let you know that you can call us if you need anything, anything at all."

"Yeah, I will," Leon mumbled. But he knew he wouldn't.

After a few minutes of silence, Leon's aunt joined them, holding his baby brother in her arms. Leon's eyes wavered between her face, so much like his mother's, to the baby, then back again. The baby began to fuss, then cry in earnest. Clearing his throat, he spoke and his voice was low, hoarse, and pained.

"Can… can I hold him?"

His aunt and uncle exchanged looks. "Of course you can, dear."

With great care, she placed the crying infant into his arms, directing Leon on how to hold him and how to support his tiny head. Leon held the baby stiffly and did his best to ignore the burning in his eyes and the way his throat squeezed so tight. To his amazement, the baby stopped crying and looked at him with his mother's calm, blue eyes."

"I think he likes you," his aunt whispered.

"Yeah," he muttered thickly.

_Too bad I can't say the same thing about him._

THE END


	6. Once Upon a Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Petshop of Horrors and I make no money from this or any other fanfic I write.

Pairing: None

Category: General

Rating: G

Warning: None

Title: Once Upon a Time

Author: yellowhorde

Notes: This was written for the LiveJournal community, 15minuteficlets. Word #6 – _Fantasy_

ONCE UPON A TME

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Orcot," The large man behind the equally large desk stood and extended his hand warmly. "I've heard a lot about you, son."

"All of it good, I hope," Chris smiled in reply as his own hand was swallowed and pumped enthusiastically.

"Indeed," The man, Thomas Greene, literary agent for one of the largest publishing companies in the world, gestured expansively toward one of the well padded chairs in front of his desk. "Top of your class in college, a first rate Federal Agent, and-" he gestured toward the manuscript atop the desk before him – "an extremely talented author to boot. I'm impressed, Mr. Orcot, and I don't say that very often."

Chris inclined his head modestly and offered one of his endearing little boy smiles. "Thank you for saying so, sir."

"Tell me, Mr. Orcot, where did you get your fantastic ideas?" Thomas Greene asked his face radiant with genuine curiosity.

Where indeed? Chris thought with another smile.

For years his parents had insisted that his memories of the pet shop and its inhabitants were figments of his imagination. Eventually, he stopped talking about Count D, Pon-chan, Tetsu and the others. No one understood. Not even his brother, Leon. Though, from his last few phone conversations with his brother he suspected that Leon had understood a great deal more than he had been letting on.

But then Leon had disappeared while searching for the Count and there was no one else who understood, no one in which he could share his special memories. And so he had written them down to preserve them… and the rest, they say, was history.

"Oh, here and there," He replied vaguely with a shrug.

"Just the answer I'd expect from a writer," Mr. Greene chuckled. "Well, no matter the inspiration, you wrote one hell of a fantasy novel, son."

Chris shifted in his seat and momentarily caught his lower lip between his teeth. Here's where things got a bit tricky…

"Well, actually, sir," he replied, leaning forward earnestly, "it's more of an autobiography."

THE END


End file.
